Consequences

by ShadowOfApate

What if Willow had to pay a price for Buffy's return? What price would she have to pay?

Title: Consequences
Chapter: One/?
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: W/D, W/B
Spoilers: For Season Six
Timeline: Season Six
Beta Readers: Dark Gremlin & The Vampire Koala

Summary: What was the price for Buffy's return? How much is
Willow willing to sacrifice for the woman she loves?

Disclaimer: They belong to Joss Whedon not me.

PROLOGUE

" With my soul you shall find balance,
With my warmth you shall live,
With my eyes you shall see,
With my blood you shall exist,
With my mind you shall think,
Together we shall be one. "

The dark haired woman bit into her wrist, drinking deeply. She arched back, sinking her teeth into the vampires wrist, the blood coating her tongue and throat. Power burst through them, driving their nude bodies together in need.

Tongue's caressed, sucked, and pulled. Lust was driven higher and higher as their sweat slicked bodies moved against each other. Moans and soft pleas broke the silence. Her body rode
the taunt thigh higher and higher, until she felt the spark in her soul connecting to the vampires demon. The single spark of
contact pushed them over the edge.

Warming arm's pulled her close, holding her tightly to the older woman. Scent of sex and lilac filled the candle lit room, giving her a sense of peace and acceptance. Her eyes drifted closed as she burrowed into the inviting arms of her lover.

" Sleep, weeping tree. I will guard you."

CHAPTER ONE

She smiled to herself as Dru twirled around in the sun, the childish joy that shone from her face making her heart beat a little faster. Seeing the clear happiness on the vampires face made the burden she felt, more bearable. The insane fog that hung over the vampire in a cloud was gone, replaced by an intelligent woman, passionate about life.

Dru came to a stop, turning her warm face up to the sun, with closed eyes.

" It's been so long since I've seen the sun, or felt warm, or even had a soul." Red tears leaked from Dru's eyes, as she looked at her. " Thank you."

She felt a small tinge of guilt. She never would've given the vampire a second thought if it hadn't been for the deal she'd made. How long had Dru been trapped with only a demon
controlling her? How long had the woman gone without the sun on her face, or warm skin?

" Don't." Dru walked towards her, the vampires age reflected in the haunted eyes. " Why would you worry about me? I was never your friend, only your enemy."

Willow wrapped her arms around the lean body before her, the simply touch setting her conflicting emotions at ease. Black magic had brought them together, a debt that she had to pay. A soul for a soul, a life for a life.

She didn't want the others to know though. The price that had to be paid was her's and her's alone. Nothing they could do or know could change that. Besides, she knew them, Xander would end up hurt or killed trying to play hero. Anya would simply start talking about how stupid she was. Spike wouldn't
really care one way or the other, and Buffy...

Buffy was still dealing with her abrupt return to the living.

" You didn't know."

She snorted softly, her lack of knowledge about where Buffy had been didn't matter anymore. There was nothing that could be done to fix it, and nothing could be done to ease the pain
her friend felt. " We should get going. McMurchada is expecting us."

" I still say you should send him back to hell where he belongs." Dru muttered.

Willow bumped into the vampire with a smirk. " Hell's to good for him."

Dru laughed at that, and followed her to the Taurus. She wanted to do exactly that, but not at the risk of Buffy. Whether the slayer knew it or not her job on earth wasn't finished, and
for that she was sorry.

" You're late."

She glared at the guy's back, " She hasn't seen the sun in over a hundred years."

The tall lean man turned to her with cold black eyes, " I told you to be here at one, not one eleven. Next time I tell you something you do it, or I'll void our deal."

" I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Dru placed her hand on her back, keeping her from ripping into the bastard.

" Make sure it doesn't."

He moved to the stone altar, and ran his hand over the gold chalice. " I have one task for you today. I want you to drink from this."

Willow stepped up next to him wearily, eyeing the thick dark red liquid. She heifted the heavy chalice up and began to drink. The thick tar like metallic tasting liquid slide down her throat. She wanted to throw up at the horrible taste, but her loyalty to Buffy forced her to swallow the last of it.

" Welcome home."

She stared at her great great grandfather with a hate that she didn't think she was capable of. She was aware of what the liquid was, and what it meant. For her and her soul.

There was once a dream she had, where she was flying over the world beside her soul mate, with wings so large that they blocked out the sun. Swooping in and out of the air currents,
her body twisting back and forth, bringing her higher and higher. The cool wet clouds bursting around her as she dived through
them, laughing at the sheer joy of it. So close to heaven that she could almost touch it.

It wasn't a lot, not compared to a lot of dreams. Money, fame, immortality. All she'd dreamed was the chance to soar through the heavens, beside the woman she loved, with no cares, no duties. Only a worry free peace that soothed their souls, and left them with only each other to worry about.

A dream, she'd known from birth that she'd never experience. Now, her existence had been permanently determined, leaving her with one option.

Willow stood inside the Magic Box unsure of what to do. She was in over her head, and was trapped in a world that called to her in ways that tempted her. Temptation that she was afraid that she would give in to it, and right now, Buffy was the best hope of stopping that temptation.

She slowly approached the others, taking in the solemn mood that waned over them. " Listen, I need to talk to you guys."

" Actually, we were just waiting for you." Buffy sat next to Spike, clasping her hands. " We've been talking about it and...we think it might be better if Tara does any spell's we
need."

The coolly spoken words were a slap to her face, driving her back a couple of steps. " Wh-what?"

" We're concerned about your use of magic and what it's doing to you." Buffy seemed to sense her despair, " It's just for now."

" H-how long is that?" She looked from one to the other searching their faces for some sign of what they thought. " How long is for now? Tell me."

" Until you learn that magic has consequences." Buffy replied.

" B-but, you can't be serious. You need me..."

" We'll always need you, but right now, I think it would be better if you stuck with research."

The stubborn cold voice that hit her was all that was needed for her to lose the shaky grip on her willpower. The morals she'd grown to obey with a fiercity now slipped away to the back of her conscience, leaving only the very part of her that she spent so many years fighting.

" Fine." Willow looked at each of them one last time, knowing that the end of an era was occurring. " If that's the way you want it."

Xander relaxed immediately, his face breaking out into a huge smile. " Great. Now, what do you say we order a pizza and get to work?"

She simply turned away from them, each step away feeling like an unbreakable gap between them.

" Whoa, hey wait a minute." Xander jumped in front of her, blocking the door, with a strained smile. " Where are you going?"

" If you don't want me helping you with magic, then I won't. I'll simply work on my own from now on." She sighed at the panicked man before her, " Don't worry, I can take care of
myself."

She stepped around her former friend, registering the shocked silence behind her. There wasn't anything left for her with them. Tara had broken up with her, Buffy could barely stand to be around her, and Xander was getting married to Anya.

It had been coming for a while, she'd just hoped that it wouldn't happen for a while longer. Not that it mattered anymore. Now there was only one path left for her.

She stormed into the dark mansion, her shoes slapping down onto the tile floor. The confidence invading her soul, screamed out at the minions that dared move into her path. Each one was sent back burning in flames that ate away at their skin.

Vampires that foolishly stepped out to see what was going on, scattered quickly as she passed. Her hands came up, flinging the double doors of the massive study exploding in splinters and fragments of wood. Black eyes searched the room, landing on her grandfather standing by the fireplace.

" What do you think you are doing?!"

She ignored the roaring voice that threatened her. She had lost everything, and there was nothing he could do to hurt her anymore. " Prepare five of your worst minions, we're going
hunting."

Chapter: Two

Survival. It was a strange little word, that fell off your tongue with a bitter taste. Survival. That one word could drive you to abandon your entire set of morals. That one word could force
your hand in a crime that you would never participate in otherwise. A word that said everything.

" The minions are in place."

She nodded to Dru as the vampire took her place at her side. " You know the plan?"

" Yes."

Her black leather trench coat bellowed, around her leather clad legs, in the cold sea wind. The shy mousy hacker was gone, and so were the cloths that marked her bright cheery personality. The knee high leather boots were more comfortable, molded to her legs like a second skin. The dark red belly top showed off her pierced belly button.

" They're coming."

Her black eyes stared out over the rows of graves to the group chasing three vampires toward her. She raised her hand up, and the vampires turned to meet the group head on. She watched as they easily fought the scoobies, keeping the slayer on the defensive. Blow after blow they rained on her friends, leaving them tired and weak, barely able to protect themselves.

She put her index and middle finger between her lips, letting out an ear piercing whistle that brought everyone to a stop. She nodded once to the vampires, and watched as they stood
still letting Buffy stake them. As their ashes blew away, she backed into the shadows, tonight's lesson accomplished.

Survival. It was a strange little word. A word that was all she had left.

" What just happened?" Xander asked quietly.

She simply stood there staring after her best friend. The person that she'd never been able to see being anything other than the bright cheerful friend that had stayed by her side for so many years, was now what she most feared.

" She was proving something." Spike flicked his cigarette to the ground, shocked at the sight of Dru with Willow.

" What? That leather makes her look like Shira in Cop a feel..." Xander trailed off awkwardly. " Not that I would know that, because I would never watch anything like that."

" There's one thing that separates the great masters from the good ones. Loyalty." Spike got an almost envious expression, " And red there, was proving just how loyal her minions are."

" Nonono, see this is where I have to the problem. This is Willow we're talking about, not Angelus, or Glory. Willow, and Willow, does not have minions." Xander glared at them just
daring them to contradict him.

" I think Xander's right, I can't see Willow going...all demony on us. She just doesn't have it in her." Anya smiled back at Xander looking for his approval.

Tara tucked her hair behind her ears, folding her arms protectively around her. " That's not quite true."

" What?" Xander eyed her darkly. " You can't possible think that she would..."

" I know she would." Tara looked around at them nervously.

She felt a hole in heart as she stared at Tara. There was something about the way Willow's ex-lover was acting that made her dreadful. " What do you know about this?"

" She made me promise..."

" Tara, we have to stop Willow, and if you know something..."

" It's a long story."

She leaned against the small black jaguar convertible, watching the dark haired woman slowly walking towards her. The slayer was wearing her first real clothes since entering the jail. Faith came to a stop in front of her, wearily looking at her and Dru.

" What's going on?"

She raised her hand, mentally pulling the slayer to her. " Simple. You're my chosen one."

" And I should care, why?"

" Revenge, money, freedom."

" Like I would ever work for you."

She pressed her hand to the left side of the slayers neck, creating a blue glow on the skin. She dropped her hand, revealing a small tattoo of a willow tree.

" You will, and you will find that I can be very, very good to my family." She claimed Faith's lips in a scolding kiss that left the slayer gasping. " Ready to go home?"

" Anything you say, Red."

She smiled at the slayer as she jumped into the back of the sports car. Everything was starting to come together.

" Yes, well, I was afraid this would happen."

She slowly turned to stare at her mentor. The older man's very demeanor screamed at her. She could read the acceptance in his face, no shock or surprise. " You knew."

Giles looked up at her, " Simply put, yes. The council did background checks on all of you, and while the rest of you checked out, Willow was flagged."

" Why? Because she's related to this...MacMurrough fellow?" Xander demanded.

" Dermot MacMurrough was a natural wizard, and quite a powerful one. However, due to his families ties, he became consumed with taking the family throne. This obsession drove him into service with Lucifer, and in the process becoming his second in command." Giles took off his glasses and began to
clean them. " As his second in command, Lucifer made him a deal. In exchange for the souls of his future relatives, he would make him the most powerful warlock in the world."

" But Willow..."

" Is a direct descendant of the Black Demon, and if as you say, Willow is now in his service then there is nothing to be done."

She glared at the watcher darkly, ready to rip a few throats out. " What do you mean there's nothing we can do?"

" For Willow to be in his service, then she has drunk Satan's blood." Giles meet her eyes sadly, " The young woman we once knew is now a demon."

" Cool. Look what I found." Anya smiled as she held up a gold medallion.

Xander took it away from the ex-demon, his face paling slightly. " Willow was here."

" What? How do you know?" Dawn glanced over his shoulder to study the gold piece. " Hey, is that a Willow tree?"

Xander nodded, " When Angel lost his soul we started joking around about what we would do if we ever..." He swallowed hard, tossing the medallion to her. " She said that she would make gold medallions with a willow tree on it, and leave it as her mark."

Buffy clutched the cold metal in her hand, her emotions running high in her. Willow. The one person she counted on day in and day out. The person that she could talk to about anything, and everything, without judgment.

" I'm going to patrol." She sprinted out the door, before they could stop her. She had something she needed to do.

" What do you mean you're my watcher?"

She rolled her eyes skyward at the slayer's reaction. " After I started helping with the slaying, Giles came to me and asked me to train to be Buffy's watcher. He was afraid that something
might happen to him, and wanted to make sure that any future watcher she had was someone she already had a relationship with. The council agreed to let him train me. I was activated right before Buffy's eighteenth birthday."

" Okay, assuming what you're saying is true, then how does that make you my watcher?"

She had a feeling that the slayer was questioning her more out of a sense of distrust than anything. " When you came out of the coma I asked the council permission to take over as your watcher."

Faith slowly sat on the tombstone, trying to get her mind around what she was saying. " But the council wanted to kill me..."

" Let's just say that Trevor's owed me a favor." Willow sat next to her newest charge, " We don't have much longer, and I don't want to risk Gramps over hearing us. I need your help Faith. I need you to trust me, and trust that I will protect you."

" So this black demon guy is a big nasty that wants to take over the world?"

" Yep."

" And the three of us are the only one's able to stop him?"

" Yeah."

Faith looked over at her seriously, " Will we get to mess with slutty's mind?"

She smirked at the slayer, her darker humor racing to the surface. " Oh yeah."

" You know Red, I think we're going get along just fine."

Chapter: Three.

This wasn't coming out right. She was supposed to terrorize Buffy, leave her feeling shocked and scared. That had been the plan at least. Appear in the slayers room, show Buffy just how vulnerable she really was. A simple, but effective plan, or it was until they'd gotten so caught up in a passionate argument that she'd started kissing her friend.

The blonde in her arms sighed happily, snuggling against her body possessively. This was so not supposed to happen. She absently ran her hand's over the smooth skin of the slayer's body, trying to get up the nerve to keep up the act.

She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. She couldn't risk her friend's life, even if it meant losing them. Her hand came to rest against the side of Buffy's neck, the soft blue glow fading as a small willow tree branded her. She needed the slayer as a back up, if her other resources failed.

" Sleep."

She slid out of the bed, and took one last look at the slayer. Tonight had been everything she had ever dreamed of and more, but now it was time to go back to her nightmare.

" How did it go?" Faith's voice broke into her fractured thoughts, driving the last of her peace away. " Did you give B a run for her money?"

She struggled not to wince at the double meaning. This is just what she needed. A smart mouthed slayer. " It was a night she will never forget."

" Really? Wish I could've been there."

" Leave my Willow alone." Dru entered the bedroom, with clear eyes, searching her mind gently for an answer.

" You're always trying to spoil my fun." Faith mock sighed. " So what's the plan?"

" Dermot is going to try and raise Lekar during the next full moon."

" That's tomorrow." Faith objected softly.

She stared at Faith hoping she'd get the message. " And we're going to help him."

" Let me get this straight." Xander looked from Spike to Buffy. " Willow came to see you last night, and she just happened to brand you?"

" Is there something you'd like to say?" She asked darkly.

" Yes, actually there is." Xander crossed his arm's, not backing down from her challenge. " You see, I know Willow, and I also know that she would only brand someone who was working
for her, or was sleeping with her. And I seriously can't see you working for her, which only leaves..."

" Oh, I know this..."

Everyone turned to look at Anya as she raised her hand. " They're orgasm partner's, and it's about time too. All that sexual tension between them was starting to drive me crazy." She blinked absently. " What?"

" Well, as fascinating as all this is, I'm afraid we've got another problem." Giles sat at the table solemnly.

" Great, now what?" Buffy asked.

" Faith has been released."

Xander seemed to pale slightly, " I thought she was serving a long sentence. A long, long sentence."

" It seems that Willow arranged for the charges to be dropped."

She sat back numbly as her watcher spoke. This couldn't be happening, not really. It had to be some sort of nightmare, and any minute she'd wake up. " How? How is that possible?"

" Willow arranged it through the council."

" What do you mean through the council?" Xander growled darkly.

" Well, it's the funniest thing, you see. Back when you started to help with the slaying I began to train Willow to become Buffy's watcher in case anything ever happened to me, and well, she managed to become an active watcher before e...uh...defected. So when she offered to take over as Faith's watcher after she came out of her coma, well the council agreed to refer to her judgment about when the charges would get dropped..." He trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly at the duel glares directed at him.

Buffy stood back up slowly stalking towards her mentor. " You're telling me that Willow is supposed to be MY watcher, but instead she's now that...that...bitches?"

Giles gulped nervously, backing away from her. " Listen to me, she was only supposed to take over as your watcher after I was no longer fulfilling my duties. Which of course hasn't happened yet, and you know how Willow is, she saw someone in need..."

" I know exactly how she is, but what I want to know is just when were you planning on telling me all of this?"

" The council thought that with her being such a close friend that it might be better to wait until after she was assigned to a slayer."

She stared at the man that swore he'd never do anything to hurt her again, trying to find some part of her left that wasn't numb from her emotions. She just couldn't keep doing this. Since Willow had brought her back, she'd found herself searching for some amount of peace. At first, it had been in Spike's arm's, but that had quickly proven to be useless. Then she'd tried pushing her friends away, which had only made it worse. But last night, when she had been in her friends arm's, everything had melted away into a world of joy, peace, and love. There had been nothing in the world, except them.

" I have to go. I'm sorry."

" Hey red?"

" Yeah?"

" Were you expecting company?"

She dropped the book she was reading through and followed Faith's gaze out her front window. Even from where she sat she could see the blonde stepping onto her porch. She loved
her friend more than anything, but she had the worst timing.

" I'll get it."

She stood up as Faith raced from the room to answer the door, the slayer's giddiness engulfing the house in a twisted game of cat and mouse. She entered the hall to see Buffy glaring at the dark slayer, her eye's blazing with a deep hate that made her wonder.

" If you're here to kill me then I'm afraid you'll have to wait."

Buffy turned to her, ignoring the smirk on Faith's face. " I want to talk to you..." She glared over at Faith, then at the vampire at the living room table. " ...alone."

" We can use the study."

" Aw, but red..."

She scowled at the slayer, " Go back to work. We don't have much time."

She quickly walked down the long hall, into the large study, her mind racing. She couldn't understand what Buffy was doing there, much less what she was hoping to accomplish.

" Aren't you going to ask me what that was about?" She finally asked, turning to her friend.

" No." Buffy grabbed her harshly, slamming her into the wall. " I don't care anymore." She whispered diving into her lips.

Buffy curled up tightly against the witches side, gripping the pale body desperately. Too scared to move, too scared to close her eyes, for fear of losing her friend again. The slightest separation was just to painful to even think about.

" I'm going to raise a demon tonight."

" I won't help you." She turned her face into Willow's neck. " But I won't try and stop you."

" Good." Willow claimed her lips in a roaring kiss, rolling them over so she was on top. " Because you're mine now."

" Yours." She whispered back, opening herself up, leaving her entire being in Willow's hands.

Willow bite into her ear lobe, her husky voice whispering in her ear. " We're going to stop him during the ceremony. But it has to look real."

She opened her eyes, meeting the black eyes of her friend. The hardness was gone, leaving only the kind woman she loved. She wanted to scream out to god thanking him, she wanted to devour Willow until she begged for mercy, but she knew not to.

" I love you." She felt the tears starting to run down her cheeks as she buried herself into the witches arm's. She needed her, she needed this now and always. For the first time, since she'd been resurrected, she felt a spark of hope. " I love you so much."

She sat at the table ignoring the curious and suspicious looks from Faith and Dru. She could feel the vampire's cknowledgement of Buffy's presence, but Faith was still trying to figure out what was going on. Her body tensed for a fight.

" Did my Willow have fun with the smelly slayer?"

She threw a warning look over at the vampire, sensing Dru's need to show her right to the witch. " Dru..."

" I don't mind sharing..." A mischievous smirk appeared on Dru's face.

" Sharing?" Buffy glared over at them.

" Dru is bonded to my soul." She smiled softly at the slayer. " It sort of ensures that she won't go all grr."

She saw the tension melt from the slayer. " We're going to have to have a long talk later."

' If I have a later.' She nodded absently, turning back to her books. They didn't have much time left.